Tank the wonder dog soared down a steep driveway on his skateboard. Owner James Green stood at the bottom wondering if the 48-pound English bulldog would make it all the way down.

Tank did. But the dog's momentum sent him flying into his owner's arms, bowling over Green, who then fell back into his father standing behind him.

A variation of this trick landed Tank a starring role in the Jan. 1 Rose Parade. The dog will be snowboarding on the Natural Balance pet food company float, expected to break the Guinness World Record for longest float in parade history.

"He's always been our little special attraction," said Green, 24, of Newhall. "Now he's going to be the world's special attraction."

In October, Tank, who recently turned 3, received a special invitation to the float tryouts.

He had mastered skateboarding, but snowboarding would be a completely new challenge. So a day before auditions, the Greens sent him skateboarding down their father's 30-foot driveway in preparation for the day ahead.

"The best thing we could figure to do was find a really steep hill and send Tank down that," James Green sad. "He did it so well, he made us look bad."

On Nov. 6, the Greens found themselves in a Natural Balance warehouse in Pacoima amidst 129 other auditioning English bulldogs.
"There were so many bulldogs there with professional trainers that we almost walked away," James Green said. "It was intimidating to say the least."

But they decided to stay. They knew Tank was special, Green said.

Tank was number 111 and by his turn, only two dogs had successfully made it down the audition ramp, Green said. It wouldn't be easy - the ramp was 75 feet long, 30 feet tall and covered with ice.

Audition representatives tried to place him 5 feet up the ramp for a start, but the Greens wouldn't have it - they said, "Take him to the top."

On his first try, Tank went three-quarters of the way and on his second attempt, he went flying all the way.

"He rode it like a pro all the way to the bottom, up the ramp and into the carpet area," Green said. "One of the judges asked how long he had been snowboarding and we said, ‘This is his first time.'"

Those driveway runs had paid off. Tank and four other dogs were called back a few days later to compete for two open spots on the float. Once again, Tank had to prove himself on the same ramp from the first auditions.

After two nights of practice down the driveway, the Greens offered to go first with full confidence in Tank.

"Tank aced both shots," James Green said. "He went from top to bottom perfectly."

Tank knew how well he'd done.

"When (Tank) finishes you can actually see him smile," said Brent Green, 21, who bought Tank his first skateboard one year ago and helped train him.

Tank secured his spot in the 2010 Rose Parade with Tillman, last year's skateboarding bulldog, and others.

"We were ecstatic, acting like little kids that just won a championship," James Green said.

Tank currently trains twice a week at a snowboarding facility with the other float bulldogs.

Tank has become quite the celebrity at family-owned business Green Landscape Nursery - at the Bouquet Canyon Road and Cinema Drive intersection - where he playfully spends his days with four other bulldogs including female bulldog, Maddie, and his sons, Champ, Chubs and Blue.

Tank's sleep-on-command and skateboarding tricks earned even more attention after being featured in The Signal in February. But the Greens expect a spot on international television, for more than 80 million viewers, to take Tank's reputation to new heights.
Not bad for a 48-pound bulldog.

"We always knew he was special but who ever knew such a runt puppy would become such a big deal," said James' and Brent's father, Richard Green.